JOIN THE PTA!
Absolute Alignment, Britain’s leading wheel alignment equipment specialist, is urging driver to prepare their cars for winter by reminding them to “Join the P.T.A.”
Technical Director of Absolute Alignment, Chris Dear, explains: “PTA is a simple acronym to explain what’s important about tyre safety – Pressure, Tread, Alignment. We’ve launched this campaign at this time of year especially because low temperatures and damp roads make a particularly slippery combination and if a car isn’t in tip top condition it can make a journey all the more hazardous.”
Absolute Alignment offers the following advice to motorists embarking on a winter of slippery roads:
Pressure – ensure your tyres are set to the correct pressure for the load carried. Study your handbook or check online for the details. These can change if a car is heavily laden and/or driven at motorway speeds for long periods. Incorrect pressures can result in soggy handling or a tendency to slide – either of which are difficult enough to control on dry roads, without the added hazard of wet leaves, frost or rain that we see as the nights draw in.
Tread – the minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm, but that will just keep you out of the courts, not necessarily out of the ditch. The equation is simple: Less rubber on the road = less grip = more likelihood of a skid. Want to make your driving less hazardous? Then inspect your tyres and replace them well before the limit is reached.
Alignment – just a 3mm wheel misalignment can reduce your tyre life by 20%, and crucially this doesn’t happen evenly across the tyre. Very often the inside edge is difficult to see but can be worn down to the canvas – and we don’t need to explain how dangerous that can be! Incorrect alignment also makes handling unpredicatable and means you’ll have to be steering even in a straight line – if that happens, get your car checked! An Absolute Alignment Approved wheel alignment centre can check your tyres and four wheel alignment so that you get the best, the safest handling your car is capable of.
The message is clear: If you want to stay safer on the roads this winter, join the PTA!